US STOCKS-Futures edge higher as investors weigh mixed signals on trade war

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* Futures up: Dow 0.13%, S&P 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.23%

By Akanksha Rana
Aug 27 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures recovered from
overnight declines on Tuesday, pointing to a positive start for
Wall Street as investors assessed conflicting comments from
Washington and Beijing on their long-drawn trade dispute.
After falling as much as 0.5% in early hours, futures
tracking the S&P 500 ESCv1 pointed to a tiny 0.1% gain at the
open as global stock markets took comfort from data showing
China's industrial companies returned to profit in July and a
rally in European stocks. MKTS/GLOB
An escalation in the U.S.-China trade tensions have battered
financial markets in the recent days after both sides threatened
to slap tariffs on each other's goods worth billions of dollars.
Wall Street's main indexes closed up more than 1% on Monday
after U.S. President Donald Trump sought to ease tensions by
predicting another round of talks with Beijing. However, China's
foreign ministry reiterated on Tuesday that it had not received
any recent telephone call from the United States on trade.
Investors are nervous about a deepening trade row hurting
corporate profits and global growth, and the lack of clarity on
the pace of U.S. interest rate cuts have only added to the woes.
With the next Federal Reserve meeting scheduled next month,
investors are gauging the strength of U.S. economy for clues on
where interest rates are headed. Data from the Commerce
Department, due at 10:00 a.m. ET (14:00 GMT), is likely to show
that consumer confidence index dropped to 129.5 in August from
135.7 in July.
At 7:24 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 34 points, or
0.13%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 4 points, or 0.14% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 17.5 points, or 0.23%.
Among stocks, Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N rose 2% premarket
after an Oklahoma judge said the drugmaker must pay $572.1
million for its part in fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, a sum
that was substantially less than investors had expected.
Other drugmakers that sell opioid painkillers and are
defending against similar lawsuits were also higher. Teva
Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd TEVA.N gained 4.4% while Endo
International Plc ENDP.O rose 3.8%.
Shares of J. M. Smucker Co SJM.N fell 5.2% after the
packaged food maker reported quarterly sales below estimates.